Monday, April 02, 2007

The iconic Swede

I never really got to see Bjorn Borg play at his prime until recently (thanks to YouTube.com) but his name has always conjured up images of icy-steel nerves and tremendous mental reserves, ironic in a man who could not take the pressure any more and retired at 26. His biggest contribution to me was how he popularized the sport in Europe, leading to the Swedish invasion (Stefan Edberg in particular). So when I come across an article that discusses him in detail I can't help but smile and post the link to it here.

By the way, the most impressive stat for me is that he was 33-0 in Davis Cup singles matches! Talk about playing for your country. Some of the Indian cricketers could learn from this.

1 comment:

BF said...

The Swedish revolution heralded by the inimitable Borg was actually the one featuring fellow-baseliners such as Mats Wilander, Joakim Nystrom and Anders Jarryd.

Stefan Edberg, as phlegmatic and gentlemanly as all the rest, is the one that got away and managed to become one of the best serve-and-volley players I have ever seen!!!